The Big Fat Lie About Fat

Maybe it's because the Cold War was over and America needed a new enemy. In any case, the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture saw the light and declared war on fat and cholesterol to reduce the incidents of heart attacks in America. 

Lite Trite

Light this and low-fat that became the order of the day, and millions of Americans obeyed. Grocery stores stocked their shelves to the rafters with low-fat, low-cal, processed, and non-organic foods; while beef, eggs, butter, whole milk, and other natural products were vilified.

Turns out this information was misinformation. Translation: a big fat lie about fat.

Consequently the well-meaning, but misleading efforts of American consumers to eat healthier were all half-baked. We decreased our fat intake, but boosted our intake of empty, low-fat calories to dangerous levels. Now were fatter, more diabetic, and more prone to die of cardiovascular disease than we ever were before.

Fat Facts

Cambridge University aggregated findings from 76 studies and revealed last spring that fat is not the fiend we thought it was. Just as another recent study by Newcastle University in the UK revealed that organic food is healthier for us than non-organic, processed foods, Cambridge University's report vindicates natural sources of fat and cholesterol as healthier than artificial, genetically-modified substitutes. Mother Nature wins again...surprise surprise!

Eschewing The Fat

Many of us thought that it made perfect sense when fat became a 4-letter word in our culture. The rationale: If fat [the saturated kind] in your diet increased your bad cholesterol [LDL], and if bad cholesterol increased your chance of having a heart attack, then getting rid of the fat should solve the problem. I mean if you are what you eat, and what you eat makes you sick, then you stop eating it, and the sickness goes away, right? Well, not exactly.

Nothing is that simple and they way our bodies process fat and other nutrients is as complex as our bodies themselves. For example, while saturated fat does increase the levels of bad cholesterol, it also increases the level of HDL or good cholesterol, so the villain is also a hero. And while the fat in a cheeseburger may still not be the healthiest choice, the fat in veggies and fish - salmon, for example - is a phenomenally good choice for vibrant health. Alas, our efforts to simplify the fat fight aren't that simple after all.

The Inconvenient Truth About Convenience Foods

Not long after the end of World War II, the food industry went into a franken-frenzy of invention. We concocted processed cheeses that are cheesy, but not in a good way. We whipped up carcinogenic chemicals and turned them into dessert toppings; we emulsified mayonnaises that have a shelf-life longer than that of a Twinkie.

We manufactured artificial vanilla flavoring without a bean of vanilla, and artificial chocolate flavoring without a chip of chocolate. Then we added these convoluted witches brews to assorted treats and munchies that we ate and fed to our children!

Cure Or Killer

And as you might expect, many of these convenient cures for our fat-fears and time management woes proved to be real killer-dillers. In fact, most fat substitutes, artificial sweeteners, packaged snacks, and other man-made contrivances are actually toxic.

Something New Under The Sun

My favorite example is margarine. It was marketed as a great substitute for butter, but it doesn't actually melt under the heat of the sun like a normal, organic food would. That's because its not normal or organic.or even food.

Were Counting Carbs

Our dear friend in the movie Rainman, counted cards to win. Now it seems that we need to count carbs - and our caloric intake from processed sugar - to win the fight against obesity and heart disease.

A Little Lemming Aid

We've been lemmings for long enough, hurling ourselves over cliffs in response to every hue and cry from the mainstream scientific community. Cholesterol and organic fat are vital to our health. They're not the enemy, nor are all those substitutes our friend.

The reality is that even though fat has been absolved on appeal, none of us should stampede to the grocery store and stock up on beef ribs or gnosh on pork chops all day; any more than we should try to subsist on seaweed and soda water. The takeaway here is to take a deep breath, commit to getting to know your body, and learning what it needs for optimal health based on your age and health conditions. Then adapt your lifestyle, diet, and other habits accordingly.

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Reviewed By:

Founder Ray Spotts has a passion for all things natural and has made a life study of nature as it relates to health and well-being. Ray became a forerunner bringing products to market that are extraordinarily effective and free from potentially harmful chemicals and additives. For this reason Ray formed Trusted Health Products, a company you can trust for clean, effective, and healthy products. Ray is an organic gardener, likes fishing, hiking, and teaching and mentoring people to start new businesses. You can get his book for free, “How To Succeed In Business Based On God’s Word,” at www.rayspotts.com.